Manufacturers of gaming devices seek to enhance the enjoyment and excitement of the gaming experience through unique and creative ways of generating and indicating game outcomes. Conventional gaming machines or devices include mechanical or virtual reels. Each reel has a series of symbol display areas spaced along the reel. When the reels are positioned adjacent to one another on a gaming device, the symbol display areas form a grid or matrix of displayed symbol display areas. For example, three reels placed side-by-side, each with three displayed symbol display areas, form a three-by-three matrix of nine displayed symbol display areas. Similarly, five reels placed side-by-side, each with three displayed symbol display areas, form a three-by-five matrix of fifteen displayed symbol display areas. Symbols generated by the gaming device are displayed in the symbol display areas.
In conventional slot machines, a number of paylines are displayed in fixed positions in association with certain displayed symbol display areas of the matrix. The number of paylines can vary; for instance, a slot machine can one, three, five, nine, fifteen, twenty-five or any other suitable number of paylines. The paylines can be straight to indicate a row of adjacent symbol display areas, or paylines can vary in direction and configuration to indicate adjacent symbol display areas in different rows.
The displayed symbol display areas connected by each payline form a predetermined fixed grouping of symbol display areas. Symbols generated by the gaming device and displayed in the grouping of symbol display areas are evaluated for winning symbols and combinations of symbols within that fixed grouping.
In a conventional slot game, a player is provided a single wagering opportunity limited to choosing one or more particular paylines on which to place a wager for the play of the game. After the player wagers on one or more paylines, the reels spin, and the gaming device generates and displays a plurality of symbols on the reels. The gaming device evaluates the symbols displayed in each group of symbol display areas indicated by each of the paylines on which the player placed a wager. If a winning outcome is detected among the symbols displayed in the symbol display areas along a wagered-on payline, an award is provided to the player.
Some known gaming devices allow paylines to be evaluated for a winning outcome without an additional wager. Other known gaming devices include a nudge feature in which a reel is caused to move or rotate in a particular direction to move a different symbol into a symbol display area indicated by a payline. After the movement of the reel, the indicated symbols are evaluated for any winning combinations.
Each of these known features involving paylines and their relationship with symbol display areas, however, include paylines that remain in a fixed predetermined location and in a fixed association with symbol display areas of the display.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new and different ways to indicate and achieve winning outcomes in a game as well as to provide new and different wagering features in gaming machines.